Anniversary
by cherylwoo
Summary: Arthur wants to surprise Yao for their anniversary. But when he gets too secretive, Yao suspects him of something... like an affair. England/China.


"What? Speak slower, Mei!" said Arthur through the phone. He paused and grabbed a piece of scrap paper from his table and scrawled the phone number Mei was reading to him from the other end of the phone.

"Okay, got it," said Arthur when he put his pen down on the table. "Are you sure they can do it?"

When Mei gave Arthur an affirmative answer, Arthur grinned and nodded. "Thanks very much, Mei!" he thanked the Asian girl. "Yao is going to love it!"

Arthur put down the phone and leaned back in his chair with a satisfied smile. His and Yao's wedding anniversary was coming up and he wanted to do something nice for Yao on that day. Arthur was going to custom-make a beautiful ring for Yao and they were going to renew their vows. Then they were going for a fancy, expensive dinner on a cruise ship. After dinner, if all went well, they were going to dance the night away to some slow music. The only thing was that Arthur wanted it to be a surprise, so Yao could not know anything about it.

Arthur cast a glance at the piece of paper he had written the number of the ring-maker on. He would call them after work – they should have plenty of time to get the ring made in time for Arthur and Yao's anniversary.

* * *

The ring-maker had asked Arthur to meet her after work to discuss the design he had wanted the ring to be in. So, when Arthur reached home, it was quite late and Yao was already in bed, reading.

"Oh, hi Arthur, aru," Yao looked up from the book he was reading and placed the book face-down on the bed. "You're awfully late today."

Arthur smiled sheepishly at Yao and set his briefcase down in a corner. "Yeah, had a report due today, so I stayed back to finish it," he lied.

Yao nodded sympathetically. "Are you hungry? Have you eaten, aru?"

"Yup, had something on the way home," Arthur replied and sat on the bed, just beside Yao. He kissed Yao gently on the lips. "And how was your day?"

Yao sniggered. "It was okay, not particularly exciting," he told Arthur. Yao gestured for Arthur to turn around, and when Arthur did so, Yao placed his hands on Arthur's shoulders and began massaging them.

As Yao's hands skilfully worked the knots out of Arthur's shoulders, Arthur gave a blissful moan.

"So…" Yao began conversationally. "How about we go for a movie tomorrow, aru?"

"Hm?" said Arthur absentmindedly. His eyes were closed, and he was clearly enjoying Yao's ministrations. "What movie are you thinking of watching?"

Yao shrugged. "How about the one with the dancing penguins? I saw the trailer and I thought it was pretty cute, aru."

Arthur was beginning to agree to watch the movie with Yao, when he suddenly remembered he had promised to meet the ring-maker to approve her design for Yao's ring. Arthur's eyes widened and he turned around sharply to look at Yao. "I can't go tomorrow," he told Yao.

"Oh?" Yao looked dejected. "You're working, aru?"

"No!" Arthur replied quickly as he turned back. "It's just that… I have something to do…"

"Oh…" Yao resumed massaging Arthur's shoulders. "Nevermind, aru. I'm sure I'll find something to entertain myself. Maybe I'll ask Kiku or Yong Soo if they're free for dinner tomorrow night…"

"Sorry," said Arthur apologetically. "You know I would watch the movie with you…"

"It's okay," Yao chuckled softly. "You have your life as well, don't you?" he smiled. "Don't worry – I just thought we should spend an evening together, considering we've been so busy and all that, aru."

It was then Arthur felt a pang of guilt surge through his body. "Why don't we spend Sunday night together?" he suggested. "I don't have anything planned for then and I'll spend the whole night by your side, I promise," he said with a grin.

Yao smiled in reply. "It's a promise, aru," he said, holding his pinky out.

With an endearing smile, Arthur extended his hand and linked his pinky with Yao's, thus sealing his promise. Then, Arthur planted a kiss on Yao's forehead. "I love you," he said softly.

"I love you too," Yao replied softly.

"Well," Arthur stood up. "I'm going to take a shower now – I feel filthy," he told Yao.

Yao nodded and picked up the book by his side. "Okay. If I'm asleep by the time you get out, then good night, aru."

"Good night, love," Arthur replied before turning around to head into the bathroom.

Yao stared fondly at Arthur's retreating back before turning back to his book. Tomorrow was a new day.

* * *

Yao's ring proved to be much more of a hassle than Arthur thought it was going to be. He wanted it to be perfect, and the ring-maker wasn't entirely sure what it was exactly that Arthur wanted. So he spent quite a lot of time commuting back and forth her office just to look at the ring designs she had made and approve them. Or if there was a need, Arthur would also make changes to the design as well.

Yao was also beginning to get suspicious of Arthur's whereabouts during the day. He would get a call and then disappear for hours on end. Frankly, it unnerved Yao.

One day, Arthur received a call from the ring-maker. Yao was nearby, in the kitchen, making a snack for himself.

Arthur cast a nervous glance at Yao but answered his phone quietly. Yao tried to ignore it. However, curiosity got the better of him.

When Arthur put down the phone, Yao looked up at him and smiled sweetly. "Who was that, aru?"

"Er…" Arthur chuckled uneasily. "That was Alfred. He wanted to know uh, if I had the documents for the last meeting," he lied.

Yao nodded. He could have sworn he heard a woman on the other end of the line, but didn't say anything.

Arthur moved to make his way out of the kitchen. "I'm uh, going to pass the documents to him, alright?"

"Okay," Yao replied as he took a bite of the steamed pork bun he had just taken out of the microwave oven. "See you later, aru!"

When Arthur was out of the kitchen, Yao frowned. Arthur was acting too fidgety to be up to something good. Yao stared thoughtfully at the area where Arthur stood just five minutes ago, while chewing on his steamed pork bun. He would follow Arthur to get to the bottom of it all.

Quietly, Yao peeked out of the house. Arthur's car was just pulling out of the driveway, and Arthur did not see Yao's silhouette at the door. Yao stuffed the last of his steamed pork bun into his mouth.

Quickly and determinedly, Yao got into his own car and reversed out of the driveway. He turned his car in the direction Arthur had driven to, and after driving for a while, Yao spotted Arthur's car parked in front of a classy café.

Afraid of being spotted by Arthur, Yao parked his car a fair distance from Arthur's, and sneaked across the road towards the café. He peered through the window of the café and caught sight of Arthur sitting in a corner of the café. Only, Arthur wasn't alone – sitting opposite him was a good-looking young lady who certainly was not Alfred, whom Arthur had told Yao he was meeting.

Yao's eyes widened as Arthur leaned forward happily and kissed the lady on the cheek. The lady flushed brightly and turned away.

Yao turned around and walked sadly back to his car. So, that was it? Arthur didn't love him anymore, and was having an affair with that young lady. But who could blame him? She was stunning, and much more beautiful than Yao could ever be.

Yao drove back in silence. He was deep in thought. Should he talk to Arthur about it? But his temper was telling him to just kick Arthur out of the house. Or leave himself. Yao simply could not bear to face Arthur right now, especially when now he knew that Arthur was cheating on him.

When Yao reached home, he went upstairs and locked himself in Arthur's and his room. Tears were gathering in the corners of his eyes, but he firmly willed them to not escape his eyes.

Yao collapsed face-down onto the bed. He remained that way for hours; he wasn't even sure how long. He just didn't feel like doing anything.

Before Yao knew it, there was a turning on the doorknob. Then, there was incessant knocking. It was Arthur. "Yao! Why is the door locked? Are you okay?"

"Go away, aru," Yao grumbled through the door.

Arthur was stunned. Yao sounded like he had been crying. But it couldn't be – Yao was the strongest person Arthur knew, and Yao didn't even shed a tear when his own brother stabbed him in the back. "You don't sound okay, love," Arthur observed.

Yao winced at the term of endearment Arthur used. How dare Arthur call him "love" after he had blatantly cheated on him? "Just go away, aru! I don't feel like talking to you right now!" To emphasise his point, Yao grabbed the alarm clock on the side table and threw it at the door. It hit the door with a loud thunk, and then fell to the ground.

"Okay, okay!" exclaimed Arthur as he took a step back. "I'm leaving!"

Yao listened as Arthur's footsteps got softer and softer. When Yao couldn't hear Arthur anymore, he let out a sigh of relief. Yao lay back on the bed, breathing heavily. He honestly didn't know what he should do. Should he confront Arthur and demand an explanation from him? Or should he just leave and possibly let Arthur bask in his guilt?

Then, the doorbell rang. Yao made his way downstairs and looked out of the window. Hong Kong and Mei were standing at the gate, wide grins on their faces. Yao's expression darkened slightly at seeing them so happy, but he recomposed himself and waved at them.

Yao exited his house and unlocked the gate for Hong Kong and Mei. They greeted him with a hug each. "Brother!" Mei called. "I made this soup, and I want you to try it!" she pushed a flask into Yao's hands.

Yao stole a glance at Hong Kong, who shrugged and rolled his eyes.

"Okay, aru…" replied Yao. "Come on in," he gestured for Hong Kong and Mei to follow him inside the house.

Hong Kong and Mei made themselves comfortable in the living room, while Yao went into the kitchen to keep the flask of soup Mei made him and to get his siblings some tea.

Yao came out of the kitchen holding two cups of warm tea, which he gave to Hong Kong and Mei.

"So…" Hong Kong began as he glanced behind. "Like, where's Arthur?"

Yao shrugged. "I kicked him out, aru." Then he scratched his head sheepishly. "Well, not exactly. I told him to go away."

Mei took a sip of her tea before placing her cup on the coffee table. "Why?"

Yao folded his arms and pouted. "He's cheating on me, aru," he said in a childish tone.

Hong Kong choked on his drink. "What?"

At the same time, Mei asked, "How do you know?"

Yao slumped onto the couch. "He's been getting these phone calls and disappearing. And this afternoon, I could have sworn I heard a lady's voice on the other end of the line, but Arthur lied to me and told me that it was Alfred looking for some documents, aru."

"So?" Mei questioned.

"I followed him today, and he was meeting a lady! It obviously wasn't Alfred!" said Yao angrily. "He looked so happy to be with her, he even kissed her on the cheek, aru!"

Mei hid a grin behind her hand and began laughing.

Yao glared at her. "What's so funny, aru?"

Hong Kong couldn't help smiling at Yao's livid face.

"You guys are so cute!" exclaimed Mei.

There was a brief moment of silence as both Yao and Hong Kong stared at Mei incredulously. Yao blinked, trying to decipher Mei's words. He blinked again. "What?" What on earth was "cute" about this whole situation?

Mei looked at Yao intently. "The lady Arthur was meeting is my friend. She is a ring-designer," Mei explained.

"A ring-designer, aru?" questioned Yao. "But why would Arthur meet…?"

"Let me finish, will you?" said Mei exasperatedly. "I don't know if I should be the one telling you this… but Arthur wanted to make a ring for you to celebrate your anniversary. So I introduced him to my friend to make the ring for you."

By then, Yao was blushing. "But why would he keep it from me, aru?"

Mei rolled her eyes. "Because he wanted it to be a surprise!" she said. "So, please, for the love of God, act surprised when he gives it to you on your anniversary!"

Yao was needless to say, shocked at Mei's reveal of Arthur's activities. He buried his face in his hands. "I have misjudged Arthur, aru…!" Yao wailed.

Hong Kong rubbed Yao's back soothingly. "What did you say to him?"

Yao looked at his brother miserably. "I told him that I didn't feel like talking to him."

"That's not too bad."

"Then I threw a clock at the closed door, aru."

"Ouch," said Mei.

"Well, that's not so bad, if you come to think of it," explained Hong Kong. "Arthur doesn't know the reason for your tantrum, so you could pretend it was PMS or something," he said cheekily.

Yao glowered at Hong Kong. "I. Am. Not. A. Girl," he growled.

Hong Kong leaned back on the couch and put his hands on the back of his head. "It was just a suggestion."

"It's not a very good one, aru!" retorted Yao, glaring at his brother.

"Don't worry," Mei placed a hand on Yao's shoulder. "Arthur couldn't be wiser."

Yao looked at Mei witheringly.

* * *

When Arthur returned home that day, he cautiously stepped into the house, afraid of eliciting Yao's wrath.

Yao was in the kitchen, making dinner. In fact, he was preparing Arthur's favourite dish – steak.

"Yao?" Arthur called as soon as he stepped into the kitchen.

Yao turned around immediately. "Arthur, aru!" he exclaimed happily.

Arthur was puzzled. When he had left Yao that afternoon, Yao was clearly upset. But now, everything seemed fine and dandy.

"Are you hungry, aru?" Yao asked, turning back to the oven. "Dinner will be ready soon!"

"Are you alright?" Arthur asked worriedly as he wrapped his arms around Yao's waist.

"Yes," said Yao sweetly. "Why would you ask that, aru?"

Arthur breathed in the scent of Yao's hair. "Nothing. It's just that when I came home this afternoon, you sounded like you were crying."

Yao chuckled softly, as the oven ding-ed, indicating that their steaks were ready. He bent down to open the oven and to retrieve their steaks. "I was upset about something, aru," Yao told Arthur. "But everything's okay now."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Arthur inquired anxiously as he turned Yao around to face him and looked at Yao intently in the eyes.

Yao smiled at Arthur. "Maybe later," he replied, placing their steaks on a tray. "Could you help me bring these out? I'm just going to prepare a jug of cordial for us, aru."

"Okay," Arthur nodded. He took the tray from Yao and made his way to the dining room. Arthur placed the plates containing the steaks on the dining table and took a seat.

Not long after, Yao came out of the kitchen carrying a jug of orange cordial. He took a seat opposite Arthur at their small table. "Eat," he said, gesturing to the steaks on the table.

Arthur dug into his food.

"You like it, aru?"

"Yao," Arthur rolled his eyes. "You know I like everything you cook."

Yao turned a pinkish colour and turned to his food. He cut up a piece of steak and stuffed it into his mouth.

"So are you going to tell me why you were upset this afternoon?" Arthur asked Yao.

Yao glanced up at Arthur sheepishly. "Lakergign'tmingguringginner," he mumbled through a mouthful of steak.

"What?"

Yao swallowed. "I said, when I said 'later', I didn't mean during dinner, aru."

"Then?"

Yao smiled at Arthur. "Why don't you ask me after our anniversary?"

Arthur looked thoughtful. Their anniversary was two weeks away. He supposed he could wait. "Okay," he replied. "It's a deal."

* * *

The day of Arthur and Yao's anniversary came. Arthur presented Yao with a beautiful hand-crafted sapphire ring. Yao was appropriately surprised, and Arthur was oblivious as to Yao's knowledge of the ring.

Arthur then took Yao to a chapel where they renewed their wedding vows. Arthur had a speech prepared. However, Yao didn't, as it was supposed to be a surprise, and when Yao admitted that to Arthur, Arthur merely chuckled and kissed him on the head, telling him to say "whatever that comes to your mind". Yao silently thanked God that it was a private affair, and so, only Arthur, him and the priest were there. He could then stumble on his words.

After renewing their vows, they went for dinner on a cruise ship, as per Arthur's plan. The entire ship was rented out for just the two of them. Yao was furious at Arthur for spending so much money on a mere anniversary, but his anger was short-lived when he saw the beautifully decorated dining room. Yao's jaw dropped, and he allowed Arthur to lead him to his seat.

"So? What do you think?" Arthur asked smugly as he, too, moved to take his seat opposite Yao.

Yao glared at Arthur. "I think you shouldn't spend so much money on this, aru," he admonished Arthur. "And you know how much I hate dressing up!"

Arthur grinned and clasped his hand around Yao's. "Dressing up once in a while is alright, love."

Yao fidgeted nervously in his seat. "I don't know, aru… this suit feels unnatural to me."

"I have something else for you," said Arthur as he reached into his pocket and brought out a small box.

Yao glanced at the box warily. "What is it, aru?"

Arthur winked at Yao. "Why don't you open it and find out?"

Yao took the box from Arthur and untied the ribbon around it. He then lifted the lid of the box to reveal a piece of chocolate wrapped in gold foil. It looked a bit misshapen, but Yao could tell it was meant to be a heart-shaped piece of chocolate. "It's a piece of chocolate," Yao commented.

"It sure is," Arthur grinned.

"But why just a piece, aru?"

"It was all the time I had," admitted Arthur sheepishly. "I went to Lindt café this afternoon, and had the head chef teach me how to make chocolate for you, but it took hours to perfect it, so… yeah."

Yao snickered softly. "In any case, thanks." He then took a bite of the chocolate and leaned over to put the remaining chocolate into Arthur's mouth. "Not bad for a first-timer, aru," Yao told Arthur good-naturedly as he chewed on the chocolate. Arthur beamed at his compliment.

It was then their first dish arrived, along with a bowl of rice each. Arthur opted for a Chinese dinner, since it was what Yao favoured the most.

"Wait," Arthur held his hand out as Yao reached out for his chopsticks.

"What, aru?"

"Before we eat, you must tell me what it was that made you so upset two weeks ago."

Yao blinked. He had completely forgotten the deal he had made with Arthur to tell him what had happened two weeks ago. "Oh," Yao said. "It's silly."

"Well," said Arthur. "I want to know."

Yao exhaled. "I was upset because I thought you were having an affair with a woman, aru."

"What?" Arthur exclaimed. "Why would you think that?"

"Well," Yao looked away. "You were getting these phone calls and disappearing for hours on end, it looked suspicious and I didn't know what to think, aru. So, that day, when you received the phone call, I could hear a lady at the other end of the line, but you lied to me and told me it was Alfred looking for some documents… so I followed you."

Arthur's eyes widened. "So you saw Bella?"

"That was her name, aru?" Yao mused thoughtfully. "She was very pretty. I could see you being attracted to her instead of me, aru."

"Nonsense!" cried Arthur. "She was just designing the ring for you!"

"Yeah," replied Yao. "Mei told me."

"Mei told you…?" Arthur's jaw dropped. "That means you knew about the ring?"

Yao held up his hand and began laughing at Arthur's shocked expression. "I only knew about the ring – I didn't know about renewing our vows and this expensive dinner on a cruise ship, aru! I must say, though, I am pleasantly surprised."

"Now I feel so stupid," grumbled Arthur.

Yao giggled and leant forward to kiss Arthur on the lips. "Don't be, aru," he told Arthur. "I told you – I was pleasantly surprised. You spent a lot of time planning this surprise, and I really appreciate it, aru."

Arthur nodded, although a bit grudgingly. "Okay," he replied. Arthur then grabbed his chopsticks as the second dish arrived. "Now we can eat!" he exclaimed, smiling widely.

Yao grinned and took his chopsticks. He, too, dug into his food. Yao decided that since it was their anniversary, he could eat all he wanted that day.


End file.
